Chapter 27: Merging with the Darkness

Immediately, the seven Awakened gathered together to discuss their next move.

In the darkness, Li Nan was the first to speak.

“In my opinion, we can't report this to the company. We have to get the supplies back ourselves.”

The other six nodded, well aware of the stakes. If the higher-ups found out, the consequences would be severe.

But the young man from before hesitated and asked, “Brother Nan, we don't have a single clue right now. How are we supposed to find them?”

“We'll find something,” Li Nan analyzed. “To steal that much, it's impossible not to leave any traces behind. And that ‘monster’ is probably still in the mall. We can get the survivors to help search. I refuse to believe we won’t find it.”

“The survivors? They’re terrified—no way they’ll agree to help hunt a monster,” Xiao Liu interjected.

Li Nan frowned. “They’ll have to agree. Our company isn’t a charity. We saved them so they could help move supplies. In the apocalypse, only those with value deserve to survive.”

With those words, the air grew heavy and silent. No one spoke again.

The six Awakened understood his meaning. Even if it meant using the survivors as cannon fodder, the monster had to be found. With over a hundred million in supplies at stake, it was more important than a few lives—even in normal times, let alone the apocalypse.

...

After the discussion, Li Nan returned to the survivors.

“Listen, everyone. We’ve just discussed it: our supplies are missing, and we can’t just sit here waiting for death. In times of crisis, we should unite and get our things back.”

“What?” The previously murmuring crowd fell silent at once.

Go look for the supplies?

Was he serious?

“The mall is pitch dark and there might still be monsters.”

“Whoever wants to go can go. I’m not risking my life!”

“He’s right! Five Awakened have already been killed. We’re just ordinary people—if we run into the monster, we’re dead for sure.”

“Killing monsters is the Awakened’s job, not mine. I’m not Awakened...”

...

Listening to them, Li Nan’s face grew thunderous. Fury burned in his eyes as he spoke, enunciating every word.

“You’re going, whether you like it or not. I have no duty to protect you. If you’re not willing to help and just want to sit back and benefit, I’ll throw you all out into the mall.”

“Ah? But...”

Fear gripped the crowd. His tone was no joke.

Besides, the Awakened exuded a pressure that made defiance unthinkable.

Of course, some among them agreed.

“We’re only alive because of the warehouse supplies. We’ve eaten plenty from there. It’s only right we help find them.”

“Yeah, there are plenty of us. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“What if the monster’s abilities are just weird, but it’s not actually strong?”

“Good point. Everything has a weakness. It can’t be invincible.”

...

Low murmurs spread among the survivors.

Seeing the crowd’s spirits rising, Li Nan decided to strike a balance between fear and hope.

“I, Li Nan, promise: whoever finds the supplies or provides useful information, Tech Corporation will reward them with enough food for a whole year!”

“A whole year?!”

The crowd gasped. In this apocalypse, even with the warehouse, they had to ration food.

Their daily rations just kept starvation at bay.

A year’s worth of food was precious beyond compare.

A few burly men immediately perked up.

“Let’s go! I want to see where that monster is!”

“Yeah, let’s find it.”

“All it can do is sneak around and ambush people anyway!”

...

Flashlights and phones flickered on, beams of light crisscrossing and driving back the darkness.

In groups of three or five, they fanned out to search.

Among them, Lin Dong kept his eyes on the seven Awakened, waiting for a chance to kill them.

He slipped away, melting into the ink-black shadows.

The mall was vast, usually able to hold tens of thousands of shoppers.

With only two hundred survivors, their presence was thinly spread, and as they searched, they became even more scattered. Some people simply gave up and found places to hide.

But Lin Dong paid them no mind—they weren’t worth eating.

The seven Awakened, on the other hand, remained vigilant, never leaving each other’s side.

“Brother Nan, I keep feeling like someone is following us,” a female Awakened said with a frown.

She glanced back, but the darkness revealed nothing.

“Don’t spook yourself,” Li Nan reassured her. “You’re just too tense.”

“You’re right,” Xiao Liu agreed. “Whenever I walked alone at night, I always felt like someone was behind me. The more I thought, the scarier it got. Just don’t think about it and you’ll be fine.”

“Really?” the girl asked, still doubtful.

They searched from the first-floor lobby all the way up to the sixth floor, but found nothing of note.

“This is bizarre,” Li Nan muttered, frowning. Had they really run into a ghost?

Xiao Liu pondered aloud, “I think the monster’s already gone. It stole all those supplies, killed five of us—why stick around?”

“That would be a problem,” Li Nan said, peering over the sixth-floor railing. He could see the lobby below and some survivors wandering with flashlights.

No one had been hurt so far.

“Maybe it really is gone...”

The female Awakened let out a long sigh of relief. “We’ve been at this for half an hour. I’ve been holding it in the whole time—I’m going to the restroom.”

“Go ahead,” Li Nan nodded, though he hesitated. “Chen Li, go with Xiaojing, just in case.”

“Uh... fine,” Chen Li shrugged, a bit resigned.

Was this really necessary? Needing backup just to use the toilet...

The two of them didn’t bother with the restroom, though. It was the apocalypse, after all—they just found a secluded spot.

Down an empty corridor, the shadows were even deeper.

But as Awakened, their eyesight was keener, and they could see just well enough.

“Hurry up!” Chen Li urged, turning away—no one wanted to watch.

“Alright,” Xiaojing replied, heading to a corner.

Just as she was about to squat down, an overwhelming sense of unease flooded her—a sixth sense warning her of deadly danger.

“Filthy thing...”

A whisper drifted from the darkness.

A young man’s silhouette slowly materialized, his face pale, his eyes icy and disdainful, as if chastising her for relieving herself in public.

“You—”

Xiaojing tensed, ready to unleash her power.

But a dagger was already buried in her temple...

...